House, 56, a burly, deep-voiced man with a long beard and ponytail
who was stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea, suffers from diabetes,
liver disease, glaucoma, neuropathy and other illnesses. He has been
locked in a bitter, protracted battle with the Department of Veterans
Affairs over his claim that his illnesses are linked to his work burying
250 barrels of Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant, in 1978 -- three
years after the last Marines left Vietnam.
House has doggedly pursued any information that might help get his claim
approved and prove to VA that he’s not fabricating his exposure. His
claim was repeatedly denied by the VA until last week, when a judge with
VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) acknowledged that House’s
suffering resulted from chemical exposure at Camp Carroll, though it
stopped short of naming Agent Orange.
“I was determined to show that I was telling the truth about why I’m so
sick,” House said. “I gave up countless hours of my life, including
years of my vacation time that I should have spent with my family,
digging for facts. I have a very understanding wife. I had to do what I
had to do.”
The VA portrayed the ruling as a single administrative finding that
applies to this one man. But House and others who have long alleged a
government cover-up regarding Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals say
it is an acknowledgement of the malevolent consequences of veterans’
exposure to those chemicals, even if, at this stage, it is unclear how
the ruling will affect cases that are specifically about Agent Orange.
Rick Weidman, executive director of government affairs for Vietnam
Veterans of America (VVA), called the judge’s decision on House’s claim
historic. “It’s a precedent, a real turning point that we haven’t had
before,” Weidman said. “Despite the fact that VA is still not saying
that Agent Orange was buried there, virtually no one to date has gotten
recognition for exposure to toxic chemicals, Agent Orange or otherwise,
outside of the war zone. VA finally admits they sprayed Agent Orange
along the DMZ [in Korea], but as far as toxins harming veterans at any
other location, they very rarely admit it.”READ MORE: http://www.ibtimes.com/judges-surprise-ruling-veterans-exposure-toxic-chemicals-us-military-base-called-turning-1569225